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Eleftheria (Freedom)

Freedom. An ubiquitous need for every living soul. It gets defined, understood, interpreted & lived in different ways And yet it is possibly THE MOST important need for all. Freedom is a nasha, an intoxication, a desire in every heart & drives most human thought & effort. Amongst all human values & aspirations Freedom is the zenith, the highest point. Like the limit in calculus, it is point which…

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To DE(legate) or not to DE

Delegation is a skill that all people managers must develop to multiply their reach and effectiveness. Blog looks at the why and how of delegation.

Delegation is not about getting rid of tasks; it’s about empowering others to help you achieve your goals.” -Laura Stack To delegate OR not to delegate: That is the Question? Today’s organizations are all about team working & interdependence. And yet, some managers end up working alone when it’s time to collaborate with their teams? I believe the primary reason is insufficient delegation skills.…

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Learn, to Change

My new blog is on Learning & Change. Do give your feedback

“History doesn’t repeat itself; human nature stays the same.” – Charlie Munger. There is a PJ that illustrates this mindset. A worker lost a finger while working on a circular saw. His manager went to the site to investigate the accident. “What happened?” he asked in anguish. The worker said, ” I was working on his critical job. I fed it slowly to the rotating saw machine like this, and…..Oh!…

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The fascination of mountains

My experience in Himachal recently & unraveling the fascination of mountains

Mother Abess sings in Sound of Music: ” Climb every Mountain/ Ford every stream/ Follow every rainbow/Till you find your dream”. The Good Mother meant it as an inspiration to Maria to leave the Abbey and find purpose outside. But it is not by chance that the symbol of reaching out & doing something larger than yourself is a mountain!! The same song comes at the end of the movie when Von Trapp…

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Whose got the Appraisal?

It is MOST PROPHETIC that the blog on Performance Appraisals is getting published on April 1st….All Fools Day!! Appraisals are about making a fool or getting fooled!! Am sure most of my readers have got appraised & received feedback in their careers. It is that time of the year!!! but tell me sincerely & truthfully How many of you were HAPPY with your appraisal? How many felt it was fair &…

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Humility & Hubris

Hubris has misled men from times immemorial. Only Humility can save the day. Be humble

Merriam-Webster defines Hubris a exaggerated pride or self confidence e.g. a boxer who shouts “I am the greatest” even though he is about to be pummeled by a stronger opponent. “Hubris” has its origins in Greek language. Greeks did not have a word for sin, but only a word for error; so hubris was used to describe a wrongful action against a divine order. The Persian king Xerxes is described by…

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Heaven and/or Hell ?

Heaven and Hell : How are they different? Are we not making up heaven or hell life itself?

Being a misanthrope at heart, I always loved Sartre’s definition,” Hell is Other People”. Many a times I have lived in my imaginary Heaven where there is nobody except me on earth. A real Robinson Crusoe existence. But then the challenge starts. I want my daughter with me. I want my immediate family. I want this set of friends. These particular colleagues. These clients. This service provider.…

[babavikas]

Ascetics, Exhausted, at Home

I have written about a marathi poem of Kavi Grace which appeals a lot to me. In fact it captures the story of all weary, fellow travellers

घर थकलेले सन्यासी Marathi poet and writer Manik Godghate, popularly known as Kavi Grace, died in 2012 after a prolonged battle with throat cancer. Known for his writings that portrayed sorrows in human life with a mystical element & an out-of-the-world imagery, Grace was conferred the Sahitya Akademi Award. Some poets go from light to darkness; some others from darkness to light. But Grace…

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HRD Concave at NDDB, Anand

Was a part of an HRD Conclave with some great speakers and fabulous learnings. This blog summarizes what I heard

NDDB (www.nddb.coop) has been one of the initial clients for BasilHR (www.basilhr.com) when we started consultancy. My dear partner Ramchandra Rao knew Dr SS Gill the-then Head of Training & Development for National Dairy Development Board situated at Anand, Gujrat. Dr Gill gave us some training assignment and since then BasilHR has been regularly working with Gill and NDDB for various training…

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Good & Evil

“Life is a festival only to the wise” said Emerson. So how would he have characterized the recently concluded Dashera? A festival that celebrates the victory of Good over Evil. Supposed to commemorate Lord Shri Ram’s win over Ravana. Ram was known as purushottam (the best amongst men). But Ravana also has his followers. In fact in some geographies Ravana is worshipped as the Hero & Ram as the…

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Films meri Jaan

For many, many years I used to watch least 1 movie a month, & that too on the large screen, in theaters! There have been many weeks when I have seen 2 & rarely even 3 films in a week!!! Fault was not mine. There were so many new releases and themes that one had to go & see. Before you de-bunk me, remember I stayed only in Hindi & English films; & shunned all regional genres, including Marathi my…

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Remembering Mandela: epitome of Forgiveness

Nelson Mandela was Positivity & Forgiveness personified. Mandela trained as a lawyer & while working in Johannesburg after qualifying, he became involved in African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. When apartheid was established in 1948 by the white-only government, the ANC committed themselves to overthrowing it. Mandela’s course was…

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Green HR

Hr moving on the sustaibility agenda, Contributing to business goals and working for People, Profits & Planet

HRAI (HR Association of India) recently asked me to be in a panel discussion on Green HR. HRAI is led by some enthusiastic, young HR professionals. So when they reach out, I always agree. But one peculiar characteristic of HRAI is that they first sign you up for a talk/panel discussion & only much later, after you have accepted, they inform you the topic. Sometimes this can be disconcerting, as…

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Where the Crawdads Sing

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Food, Heavenly Food!

My new blog on food

I thoroughly resonate with Oscar Wilde’s statement “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives!” Possibly because it has been my relatives who have made me into a foodie! Beginning from my mother, who would insist on making hot rotis on coming back from school; my wife who learnt her cooking out of notebooks, notes from her grandma & my mother & is now a super chef; my…

[babavikas]

Tu Jhoom

Have written about my life through the lens of Abida Parvren & R Lall. superb rendition.

The song ‘Tu Jhoom’ is a part of the album ‘Coke Studio Season 14’: written by Adnan Dhool, composed & mixed by “Xulfi” Jabbar Khan. The song is in Punjabi, & genre is fusion music. Tu Jhoom is rendered to perfection by the maestro Abeeda Parveen & Naseebo Lall. They sing about moderation, self-love, & self-sufficiency & how running after worldly things will not get you peace. I have taken a lot…

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At Any Cost

At any cost is a shadow war cry. Cost Benefit analysis decides what to pursue & what to give up. Choose wisely

We all have heard & even used this phrase many times. But do we really mean it? are we ready to go to any extent to achieve a goal? are we ready to pay any price? are we so driven that we genuinely feel the benefit far outweighs the effort; & so we are ready to acquire/achieve something at any cost? Does the End indeed justify any Means? Genuine dilemma from times immemorial. Jim Rohn warns,…